Lindsay Bergman-Debes

Class of 2007Major/Minor: English with a minor in Business Management

A liberal arts education is like a Swiss Army knife. I majored in English, minored in business management, took courses in earth science and philosophy, worked different campus jobs, and built relationships with faculty and staff.

The opportunities to find and practice what you love are endless. My coursework allowed me to develop critical thinking and excellent writing skills and my job in College Relations and Marketing and internship working on the Washington College Review allowed me to explore my interests in marketing and graphic design. As a staff member of campus publications The Collegian and The Medium, I developed lifelong friendships. To this day, I work on special projects with friends who worked on the publications with me. Most recently, I worked with Sara Wuillermin ’05 and Kate Amann ’06 on a literary magazine called Grief: A Life in Five Stages with writing and art based on the Kübler-Ross model.

Though I went to graduate school for secondary education, I found myself back in Maryland at the same time a job opened up in College Relations and Marketing. When I came back to campus, I immediately felt like I was home. I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of a fantastic creative team working hard to share this institution we love with future generations. I’ve had the pleasure of supervising student employees who remind me a little of the Lindsay that worked in this office from 2004 to 2007, and I feel confident that their education and the relationships they build at Washington College will stay with them forever.

Who Was Your Favorite Faculty or Staff Member?

This is a very difficult question. Although I was an English major, I took marketing and advertising with Dr. Terry Scout. His personality and methods for keeping us engaged in the courses really stuck with me. I always looked forward to his classes. I also worked closely with Dr. Michael Harvey on an independent study project in the business management department, which I think helped me develop writing skills outside of literary analysis. But really, who would I be without a background in literary analysis? I loved classes with Dr. Richard Gillin and Dr. Kathryn Moncrief, and I think Professor Moncrief’s influence was with me when I was student teaching and encouraged my ninth graders to really explore Romeo and Juliet more deeply than the curriculum called for.

I also owe so much to Diane Landskroener, the graphic design goddess of College Relations and Marketing for many years; Marcia Landskroener, who I am so glad to have as part of the team I work with now; and Meredith Davies Hadaway, who brought me back into the fold in 2011. These women were huge influences on who I am professionally, and I’m so glad that I worked with them as a student and as a staff member.

What is Your Favorite College Memory?

To be quite honest, I loved living in Middle Hall. My junior year, Kate Amann ’06 lived down the hall and we would get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, make some sort of side in the microwave, and watch Law and Order: SVU while talking about our various classes and projects.